Brrrrrrrrrr --- Good Weather for Warm Scarves

We have one very cold day going on here but the waves have been just glorious! I was out for a few hours this morning taking photos of the waves and the spray coming off of them and was very glad I had a warm scarf! Since Christmas I have confined my knitting to simple projects and have finished three scarves which I'm pretty pleased with. If you are headed out to a place like Good Harbor Beach or Thacher Island (left), you would do well to have a warm scarf to wrap up in!

I posted a picture of my Barbie Rose Scarf (right) a week or two ago but I have finished it and it is very warm and snuggly. The yarn is a lovely, soft wool from HandpaintedYarns.com. This is their Super-Bulky Kettle-Dyed 100% Pure Wool in the scrumptious color that they call Barbie Rose. The pattern couldn't be easier - I cast on 24 stitches on size 15 needles and worked in garter stitch (all knit) adding one stitch at the end of a row and then decreasing one at the end of the next row. I repeated this until I ran out of yarn (four skeins) and added a deep fringe made from their Novelty Boucle Bulky Pure Wool also in Barbie Rose. This is a long, super warm and snuggle scarf and the color is just luscious.

The second scarf (left) is one I talked about making some time back. It is all knit in Traveling Vine Pattern - a popular pattern from most knitting stitch books. I used KnitPicks.com Andean Silk in Cornflower which is a blend of fine alpaca and silk. This yarn is so luxurious and delicious to touch and to wear -- it really is a treat to work with. I just cast on 77 stitches, worked an inch in garter stitch and then worked in pattern until I ran out of yard (5 skeins) and added a deep fringe. Once I learned the pattern it went fast but be sure to use markers or you can get very, very confused!!!

And the third scarf (right) is pretty funky - not the sort of thing I usually make but it is for my college-age niece Tasha and I wanted something fun for her! The yarn I used is Bernat's Boa in five coordinating colors - Emu, Partridge, Love Bird, Dodo Bird, and Parrot. I decided to use a carry-along yarn to give it a bit more body. I used a Dusty Rose colored Z-yarn in a lightweight acrylic I bought at WEBS a long time ago.

Holding the two yarns together I cast 30 stitches on size 15 needles and used the same technique as for the Barbie Rose scarf - garter stitch alternating adding one stitch or decreasing one stitch at the end of alternating rows. I changed colors whenever I felt like it. I just love making these simple but beautiful scarves.

I really love the way scarves and shawls knit on the bias flow and wrap around you. They seem to be extra snuggly.

So that's it from me today --- stay warm and make something warm for someone you love while you're at it!

Thanks for reading.